MADE.By You. For You. {@CHIxMPLS}

Tag Archives: talladega

This week will see a whole collection of independent limited releases happening across the country. First on the list is The Big Short from director Adam McKay (Anchorman, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby), starring Christian Bale (The Dark Knight, American Hustle), Steve Carell (The Office, Seeking A Friend for the End of the World), Ryan Gosling (Drive, The Place Beyond the Pines), and Brad Pitt (Babel, By The Sea). The film, based on the novel by Michael Lewis, follows four friends who predicted the housing market collapse in the mid 2000s and bet against the odds with the national banks, becoming nearly instant millionaires. The film was last seen at the AFI Film Festival in LA earlier this year, and a further nationwide expansion is still expected for 2016. Continue reading →

Happy Halloween! This October has already seen a new addition to the Paranormal Activity series (The Ghost Dimension), the return of AMC’s The Walking Dead and its spinoff series Fear The Walking Dead, and the comeback of R.L. Stine’s classic scary-tale series Goosebumps with Jack Black (Shallow Hal, School of Rock) at the helm. This week, and just in time for Halloween weekend, we get another Zombified movie experience from director Christopher Landon (Paranormal Activity, Burning Palms) in the form of Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse. Bringing back the fun-zombie feel of Zombieland (2009), this one follows three scouts who must use their experiences to ban together and save their hometown from a zombie outbreak. Actors Tye Sheridan (The Tree of Life, Mud), Logan Miller (I’m In The Band, +1), and newcomer Joey Morgan star in the lead roles, with Sarah Dumont (Don Jon, Playing It Cool), David Koechner (Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby), and Cloris Leachman (Young Frankenstein, Beerfest) in the supporting cast. Director Landon co-wrote the screenplay with Lona Williams (Drop Dead Gorgeous, Shark Tale), Carrie Lee Wilson (Teamo Supremo, College Road Trip), and Emi Mochizuki (College Road Trip). Also still playing in theaters for your Halloween needs are Goosebumps and Crimson Peak. Enjoy the Halloween weekend, and be safe!

The Bean in Chicago’s Millenium Park will also be featured as part of Statue Stories Chicago.

A new project here in Chicago is launching this week in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. The project is called Statue Stories Chicago, an idea which first launched in parks in Britain and Chicago is now the first US city to feature the attraction. 31 statues in Lincoln Park will feature new icons that Chicagoans and tourists can scan with their smart phones and then receive a phone call from ‘the statue’ informing them of who they are and providing a small bit of history behind the statue as well. For example, if you were to scan the icon next to the statue of Abraham Lincoln, you would receive a phone call from Abraham Lincoln, whose voice is provided by actor John C. Reilly (Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Step-Brothers). The project is the work of Colette Hiller, who has worked with theaters around the city, including Second City, Steppenwolf, The Goodman, and The Looking Glass, to bring the attractions to life. Other actors taking part in the project include Steve Carrell (The Office, Little Miss Sunshine), David Schwimmer (Friends, Six Days Seven Nights), and Chicago-native Bob Newhart (The Bob Newhart Show, Elf), who provides the voice for his own statue at Navy Pier. So if you’re in Lincoln Park be sure to check out these new talking statues!

Director Adam McKay on the set of Anchorman 2: The Legend of Ron Burgandy.

Director Adam McKay is more popularly known for his work on films like Anchorman, Talladega Nights, and Step-Brothers, and fans will see more of his comedic approach in the upcoming comic-adaptation of Ant-Man with Paul Rudd in the title role, but the director has more on his upcoming schedule than just a couple of outlandish comedies. This week it was announced that actors Christian Bale (The Dark Knight, Exodus: Gods and Kings), Ryan Gosling (Drive, The Ides of March), Brad Pitt (Fight Club, Ocean’s Eleven), and McKay-movie regular Steve Carell (Little Miss Sunshine, Anchorman) will be taking roles in McKay’s upcoming financial drama The Big Short. The film comes from an adaptation of the book by author Michael Lewis, which follows the collapse of the financial industry in relation to the real-estate markets and unregulated stock and bond trades. Lewis is also the author of Moneyball, which was adapted for the big screen back in 2011 by director Bennett Miller (The Cruise, Capote) and also starred Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, and Robin Wright. Miller also just paired up with Steve Carell in 2014 for the biographical-drama Foxcatcher, which now has three Golden Globe nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor (Carell) and Best Supporting Actor (Mark Ruffalo). Seeing as the remainder of the supporting cast for The Big Short has yet to be filled and the project has no official release date, it may be a while before we see it in theaters, but we’ll keep an eye out for more news.

Step Brothers and Talladega Nights comedy duo Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly are reuniting for another feature length comedy with director Adam McKay, who directed both Step Brothers and Talladega, as well as Anchorman 1 and 2. The new project is entitled Border Guards from a script by Oscar nominated screenwriter Jesse Armstrong (In The Loop, Four Lions). The story circles around two friends who decided to join the border patrol on the US/Mexico border who end up on the wrong side of the fence with no papers or documents and must sneak back across the border themselves. The project will be put out through Sony Pictures and Gary Sanchez Productions.